Physical examination
The budget pricing is reflected in the build quality of the slimline DVD1000. It's not poor by any means, but the generic style - which we've seen before on a number of other models - is down to an ODM in China that's churning out the chassis by the thousands.
The central buttons are accented by a blue LED when the unit is in standby, and the disc drawer has a smooth opening/closing motion.
The display offers all the pertinent information but isn't easily viewable from more than, say, 6 feet. It can't be turned off when viewing in a darkened room, which is a little annoying.
The rear is where all the external connectivity is situated. SCART is ubiquitous and, seemingly, obligatory.
A closer look shows the HDMI connection through which the player can output to standard-definition 480p and 576p along with 720p and 1080i upscaling to high-definition. We would have liked to see 768p offered as an option, as that's the native resolution of most HD screens and would have made for pixel-perfect mapping.
Digital optical output is taken care of by both coaxial and optical S/PDIF connections and the DVD1000 supports Dolby Digital decoding through the 6-channel analogue audio ports in the middle of the above picture.
The DVD1000 ships with a brief quickstart guide and a printed manual that's generally adequate if not as comprehensive as, say, Sony or Toshiba's. There's a basic SCART cable but no HDMI cable, so you will need to invest further to get the most out of the player.
The remote control covers all the functions that you would expect, including a 3-stage zoom, but, subjectively, isn't quite as well laid out and intuitive as Sony's. The various HDMI modes are easily toggled via a single button, incidentally.
